Pests are animals, birds, or insects that spoil food by contaminating it with biological (rodent droppings and insect parts) or physical (biting, chewing, and scratching) contaminants. They can also damage buildings and equipment.
Bakersfield Pest Control methods include exclusion, removing breeding grounds, and pesticides. When hiring a pest control company, ask for details about the chemicals they use and how to apply them safely.
Pest identification is a crucial step in the pest control process. Identifying the species of pest allows for better management strategies and reduces the use of harmful chemicals. Proper pest identification also provides key biological information, such as the foods they eat, environmental and harborage conditions, life cycle characteristics, and more.
For example, when a homeowner suspects ants or rodents are invading the home, a pest control professional should be called to perform a thorough inspection. The professional should look under, around, and behind areas where the pests are most likely to hide. This includes looking for ant hills, rodent holes, and other evidence of pest activity such as gnaw marks on wood and wire. Other important clues to look for include odors, as pests leave urine and droppings throughout the house that can be smelled. Look for stale or rotten food, as pests usually carry away crumbs and bits of food.
Knowing what pests are present in the home is essential to determine whether or not the pests need to be controlled and if so, how. If a pest infestation is not identified early, the pests can cause significant damage to property and the home environment.
When a pest infestation is identified, a pest control professional can help homeowners and institutions come up with a plan to eradicate the problem. This may involve pest traps, baits, or sprays. The pest control company can also provide educational materials and seminars for the public to help educate people on the importance of pest control.
Pest control companies should be able to show you their credentials upon request, including a copy of their pesticide license, copies of the pesticide labels that indicate how the products will be applied and the rates at which they are to be applied, and any other pertinent documents or warranties. Reliable applicators will be able to provide all of this information quickly and efficiently.
Having the right knowledge of pests and how to prevent pest infestations can eliminate headaches and costly repair bills. Hiring a pest control professional can take on the burden of figuring out which pests are invading the home and garden, determining the best removal strategy, choosing the right pesticides and how they should be applied, monitoring traps, and searching for nests.
Pest Prevention
Using pest prevention methods prevents the need for invasive and expensive treatments. Pest prevention requires a larger investment of time and money at the outset, but it reduces facility risk, lowers the cost of control and avoids product recalls and customer rejection of shipments. Recalls and rejections are costly to facilities, plant managers and upper management.
Properly identifying the pest and understanding its life cycle helps determine whether a treatment is necessary. Accurate identification allows for the selection of the most effective methods for controlling pests, which include cultural practices, biological controls, and chemical controls.
Cultural controls focus on changing environmental factors to reduce the ability of pests to reproduce or grow. These methods include changing irrigation patterns, improving soil quality, and modifying cultivation techniques.
Biological controls involve using natural enemies to reduce pest populations. These organisms can be predators, parasites, pathogens, or competitors. They may also use pheromones to manipulate host behavior or release chemicals that suppress pest activity.
Chemical controls can include spraying, baits, and other forms of pesticide. Using the right pesticide at the correct stage of a pest’s life cycle can reduce its effect and minimize collateral damage to non-target plants.
In addition to reducing attracting conditions, preventing pests from entering and nesting is essential. Regularly remove food debris, clean trash bins, and close off places where pests can hide. Sealing garbage and compost bins, placing them away from the facility, and removing them regularly will help deter rodents, flies, and other pests. Closing up entry points like vents and expansion joints, and caulking cracks around cabinets will make it harder for pests to get inside.
Establishing routine scouting and monitoring will allow you to act quickly when pests are noticed. For instance, if you discover an area of the facility where mosquitoes breed and lay eggs, it’s a good idea to check it every day or week – at least until the problem has been resolved. Scouting and monitoring is a part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This approach to pest control emphasizes treating only for a specific problem, rather than blanket treatments.
Pest Control Methods
When pests are present in the garden, field, forest or building, monitoring tells us if they are at levels that warrant control. For example, a few wasps flying around occasionally probably don’t require action, but seeing them every day in greater numbers might mean it’s time to find and destroy their nest. This threshold-based decision-making is a key element in an IPM approach.
The monitoring process can involve a variety of techniques, depending on the type and location of the pest to be managed. For example, scouting (visual inspection) and trapping may be used to monitor insect, insect-like or mollusk pests; monitoring of weeds is usually done by visual examination. In buildings, monitoring often involves checking for signs of infestation such as droppings or burrows, and the use of specialized tools can help reveal hidden conditions such as cockroach activity within wall voids.
Other types of monitoring can include observing animal behavior and examining habitat conditions. For example, mice, rats and raccoons make noises that can provide clues to their presence in structures. In addition, observing their tracks or hearing scratching and scurrying can give an indication of how many pests are present. Monitoring of climate conditions can also be important, as extremes of temperature — both hot and cold – can affect pest behavior or limit their growth.
Mechanical or physical controls kill or block pests directly or make their environment unsuitable. Examples of these include traps for rodents, steam sterilization of soil for weed control or screens or barriers for birds and insects. Chemical controls can also be effective but should be employed only after a careful evaluation of their risks to humans, beneficial organisms and the environment.
Chemicals that are not contained in baits or traps may be used to kill pests, such as ultra-low volume fogging for insect infestations and horticultural oils for plant diseases. Other chemicals, such as fungicides, can be used to prevent or control pests in soil, water or air. When pesticides are used, it is essential to follow label instructions and safety warnings. Also, the use of multiple methods in an integrated pest management strategy reduces the chances of applying too much or the wrong type of pesticide.
Pesticides
A pesticide is any substance that prevents, destroys, repels, or mitigates a pest (NPIC, 2018a). Its chemical makeup determines whether it’s an insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, disinfectant, or desiccant. Some pesticides have natural origins, while others must be synthesized in laboratory settings in order to achieve marketable quantities.
Pesticides are formulated to kill a specific pest or group of pests when applied as directed. But a large percentage of these chemicals reach destinations other than their targets, contaminating air, water, sediments, and even our food. They’ve also been linked to a host of health hazards, from short-term impacts such as headaches and nausea to chronic effects including cancer and reproductive harm.
It is essential to recognize the need for pest control before applying any pesticides. Pesticides should be used only if non-chemical methods have failed to provide adequate control and the pest is causing serious problems, such as contamination of the environment or human health hazards.
Pest control professionals are licensed to perform P-phase (household pests such as cockroaches) and W-phase (wood-destroying insects such as termites, wood-boring beetles and powderpost beetles). They may be further certified for Integrated Pest Management, which means they use non-chemical techniques in addition to pesticides.
While some pesticides are rapidly absorbed into the environment and break down quickly, others, such as surface sprays and termite treatments, can remain in the soil and on plants for days or weeks. This is why it’s important to work closely with your pest control professional and follow label directions precisely.
Toxicity and exposure are the main factors determining risk when it comes to pesticides. The toxicity of a pesticide is its ability to injure living organisms, while exposure refers to the amount of pesticide and the length of time it’s been exposed to an organism or environment.
Regardless of their toxicity, all pesticides pose risks to the environment and human health when they’re misused or improperly disposed of. To minimize these risks, all pesticides should be stored and handled with care. Only use pesticides for their intended purpose and never mix or combine them with other products that could affect the way they work, such as solvents. And always make sure you have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand when applying any pesticides to your home or garden.